As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, and on behalf of my constituents, I sent budgetary questions to 39 state agencies, most of which are under the governor’s direct purview. Originally when I first sent these questions, I viewed them as necessary for the 2017-18 state budget. But as the state faces a $1.2 billion shortfall for this current budget, it is even more important that these questions are answered by state agencies.

Unfortunately, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration, after waiting three months after I sent the questions, failed to provide detailed answers to many of my questions. The governor’s decision to ignore a request for information from an equal branch of government was blatant. Also was his response, which was delivered to my Capitol office in hardcopy (paper) form and included hyperlinks which obviously cannot be clicked on a piece of paper.

It’s a shameful that a representative of the people of this Commonwealth cannot readily receive requested information about an important issue, such as the budget. This is clearly a lack of transparency on the part of the Wolf Administration and hinders the General Assembly’s ability to oversee how taxpayer funds are being used. As members of the General Assembly and the House Appropriations Committee, we cannot do our jobs unless we have all relevant information pertaining to the budget.

This is not a partisan issue nor an attempt to bash the governor. I applaud the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, the state Treasury Department and the Office of Auditor General, which all provided clear and concise answers to my questions in a timely manner. When it comes to state finances, transparency should be the expectation not a rarity.

I am continuously working to hold Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration accountable to the taxpayers.

Earlier this year, I filed a lawsuit with State Rep. Stephen Bloom (R-Cumberland) to prevent him from unilaterally closing the Public Employees Retirement Commission, which is the taxpayers’ independent pension watchdog agency. The governor unconstitutionally attempted to close this organization, despite the fact that it was created by an act of the General Assembly.

Our lawsuit was effective, as the governor gave up his misguided attempts to close this agency before oral arguments for the trial were to take place. See below to read more about the lawsuit.

Earlier this session, I also released a report regarding the questions remaining with Gov. Tom Wolf’s spending during the budget impasse. A number of questions still remain about his spending priorities and the constitutionality of his spending without a signed budget in place.